Featured Interview With Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Brooklyn New York and am a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada although I never lived in Canada. However, I love to travel to Montreal frequently. I love to travel period. I’ve been to 37 countries so far. Travel and the arts- literature, music, fine art, dance, sustained me through difficult times. Childhood was very rough. Hence generational trauma informs my identity, core values and world-view and led to my committing my life to recovery from complex trauma and helping those similarly effected. It also led to my writing A Clinician’s Journey from Complex Trauma to Thriving; Reflections on Abuse, C-PTSD and Reclamation.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading very young. Fairytales and myths were a place to take refuge and escape difficulties. I was very shy but ironically was drawn to acting. That opened up a portal to great playwrights. My father wrote creatively and as a journalist, so that inspired me to write short stories as a kid. Writing creatively and in a journal has been an ongoing ritual in my life. A few years ago I co-authored a play Let the Phoenix Rise, for underserved traumatized women in the public sector, which was produced and directed.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I was drawn to the writings of Dostoyevsky, Joyce Carol Oates, Eugene O’Neil, Tennessee Williams, Pat Conroy, Toni Morrison, fairytales and mythology. Really anything that explored the human condition. I also love historical fiction and thrillers. The Alienist by Caleb Carr was a riveting book for me to read. Given that I’m a psychotherapist and interfaith minister I also love the writings of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Marion Woodman, and RD. Laing. In terms of poetry I seem to like the beat genre a great deal; Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Bukowski, although one of my favorite poems is Alone by E.A. Poe.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
As a seasoned psychotherapist and interfaith minister who is also a survivor and thriver of complex trauma, this anthology of essays I’ve authored offers unique heartfelt guidance for clinicians and those who are casualties of systemic child abuse and subsequent trauma. Essentially the book embodies the journey of healing and recovery, beginning with articles that pertain to abuse, complex trauma and addiction, and segueing into the relational quest, recovery and treatment and concluding with thriving creatively and spiritually.
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Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW’s Website
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